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Friends of the Fredericksburg Area Battlefields
Promoting Preservation Through Education

SPRING 2000 NEWSLETTER

FoFAB has been engaged in preservation efforts on the following battlefields:
Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Spotsylvania Court House, Aquia Landing, 
Cedar Mountain, Mine Run, Trevilian Station

Calendar of Events

Trevilian Station Battlefield Parcels Saved!

Thanks to the Herculean efforts of the Trevilian Station Battlefield Foundation (TSBF), two parcels of the largest all-cavalry battle of the Civil War have been purchased. These two sites are the beginning of what will be a 10-stop driving tour of the battle. The Foundation hopes to be able to purchase other parcels in the future and possibly open a small visitor center at one of the sites. Until now, the entire battlefield was privately owned and no sites were open to the public.

The all-cavalry Battle of Trevilian Station centered around the Virginia Central Railroad. This line was a vital link for Lee’s army defending Petersburg, bringing essential supplies from the Shenandoah Valley and other areas of the Confederacy, and offering a facility for rapid troop movements and communications. In June 1864, Grant dispatched Sheridan and two of his three cavalry divisions to make one last determined effort to sever this Confederate artery permanently, and then continue on to the Valley to aid Gen. Hunter in Lynchburg. Sheridan’s forces collided with Confederate cavalry under Wade Hampton in the area of Trevilian Station, and a two-day mounted and dismounted battle began. After nightfall on the second day, his ammunition running low and losses unusually high, Sheridan withdrew his troopers from the field and returned to the Union lines east of Richmond.

TSBF was able to secure an ISTEA grant from the Commonwealth of Virginia and Louisa County to assist with the purchase. The Foundation also has a grant to develop a 10-stop driving tour of the Trevilian Station Battlefield.

Congratulations to the Trevilian Station Battlefield Foundation for a job well done! You can find more information about TSBF on page two of this newsletter. If you would like to assist TSBF with their efforts to purchase and preserve the Trevilian Station Battlefield, please contact Ed Crebbs, President, TSBF, P.O. Box 124, Trevilinas, VA 23170.

Continuing Efforts at Cedar Mountain

The Friends of Fredericksburg Area Battlefields (FoFAB) continued its efforts on the Cedar Mountain Battlefield in Culpeper this spring. On March 18, several FoFAB members turned out for a workday at Cedar Mountain Battlefield. Our mission was to clear brush away from the fence dividing the property. Now that the area is cleared, there will be adequate room for tour groups to walk along the fence even when crops are growing in the field. When the work was done, many of those who attended the workday received an impromptu tour of the battlefield from Buddy Simms, a local resident who has spent much of the past several years researching the battle. Each worker also received a 50% discount off the cost of the Cedar Mountain bus tour FoFAB sponsored on April 1.

Greg Mertz, Supervisory Historian of the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, led our bus tour. All proceeds from the tour, print raffle, and donations received during the tour, will be donated to the Civil War Preservation Trust to assist with the purchase of the battlefield.

FoFAB hopes to continue its partnership with the Civil War Preservation Trust (CWPT) in the future by preparing an interpretation plan for the battlefield, and then possibly raising the necessary funds to place interpretive signs at strategic locations on the battlefield. If you would like to assist us in our efforts at Cedar Mountain, please feel free to contact us via the mailing address, e-mail address, fax, or phone number listed on the front of this newsletter. We welcome your involvement in maintaining and interpreting this significant Civil War site.

Project Management, Leadership, and Teamwork

Once again this May, the Friends of Fredericksburg Area Battlefields (FoFAB) had the opportunity to assist Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) students in the Fast-Track Master of Business Administration Program. When VCU wanted to teach its Fast-Track MBA students a lesson in Project Management, Leadership, and Teamwork, they turned to FoFAB for some help.

Virginia Commonwealth University sent a full bus of its Fast-Track MBA students on a Chancellorsville Battlefield tour led by FoFAB Education Coordinator Lee Ann Williams. The students were divided into two teams. Appropriately enough, VCU provided one team with blue hats and the other team with gray hats. The assignment was to study the battle in detail to determine what could have been done to change the outcome of the battle. The students had all done research on the battle before the tour and spent the time on the bus ride from Richmond watching a video about the battle and discussing some of the finer details of the battle. It became quite evident during the tour that the students had genuinely studied for this assignment as they asked probing questions about battle strategy, command structure, and personal motives.

FoFAB is pleased to be able to offer this type of program as part of our commitment to providing quality educational programs on the Civil War battles fought in the Fredericksburg area and the Civil War in general. If we can assist your organization with a special education program or if there is a Civil War related topic you would like us to consider for a future educational program, please contact us at (540) 972-9954

New Book - To the North Anna River

Please reserve a copy of Gordon Rhea’s new book To the North Anna River for me. Enclosed is my check written to FoFAB to cover the cost of the book at this special 20% discount and any applicable shipping charges.

_____ I plan to pick up my book at Gordon Rhea’s June 17 Bus Tour.

_____ I plan to pick up my book at Gordon Rhea’s June 17 Lecture.

_____ Please mail my book to the address below. I have enclosed the $4 shipping fee.

Name ______________________________________________________

Address ____________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________

Phone _____________________________________________________

1864 Cavalry Actions Bus Tour
Saturday, June 17, 2000

Led by noted Civil War historian and author, Gordon Rhea, the tour will cover the cavalry actions of 1864 including Todd’s Tavern, Yellow Tavern, and other sites.

The bus will depart from the Gordon Road commuter lot on Rt. 3, west of Fredericksburg, Virginia at 8 a.m. and return about 5:00 p.m.

Participants should bring a lunch and beverages.

The cost is $50 per person.

To participate in this bus tour, please complete the form below and mail it with your check for $50 per person to Friends of Fredericksburg Area Battlefields, 13100 Wilderness Park Drive, Spotsylvania, Virginia 22553-8220. Checks should be made out to FoFAB. If you have questions, please feel free to contact us at this address or call (540) 972-9954, Fax (540) 972-3521, or e-mail: robwilliams@erols.com. A confirmation letter, including more specific directions to the Gordon Road commuter lot, will be sent once the check is received. The tour will take place rain or shine. We are limited to only one bus so get your registration form in quickly!

1864 Cavalry Action Bus Tour on Saturday, June 17, 2000

Name _____________________________________________________

Address ___________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________

Phone _____________________________________________________

I would also be interested in a bus tour on the following subject/battlefield

__________________________________________________________

Have You Paid Your 2000 Dues?

The FoFAB membership year runs from January 1 to December 31. If you have not paid dues since October 1, 1999, your 2000 membership dues are now due. Annual membership dues are $10 per person/family. Please make checks payable to Friends of Fredericksburg Area Battlefields or FoFAB. Please complete the membership application on page three of this newsletter.

 

If you feel as we do, we invite you to join in our efforts.

 


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13100 Wilderness Park Drive, Spotsylvania, VA 22553-8220
Phone: (540) 972-9954 Fax: (540) 972-3521
 
robwilliams@erols.com



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